PantsEnvy's recent activity
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Comment on Bean recipes? in ~food
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Comment on ‘Paper or plastic?’ will no longer be a choice at California grocery stores in ~enviro
PantsEnvy Link ParentHmmm, you could argue that also includes restaurants with a booze license that also offers food to go with...other entity that is engaged in the retail sale of goods intended to be consumed off the premises
Hmmm, you could argue that also includes restaurants with a booze license that also offers food to go with...
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Comment on ‘Paper or plastic?’ will no longer be a choice at California grocery stores in ~enviro
PantsEnvy LinkI think this still doesn't apply to restaurants? Also, it might not apply to Target, who primarily sell non food related items?I think this still doesn't apply to restaurants?
Also, it might not apply to Target, who primarily sell non food related items?
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Comment on How do you shave? in ~life.men
PantsEnvy LinkDaily: Double Edge safety razor with Feather blades and Proraso Shaving Foam. Traveling: Cartridge plus a tube of foam. Feeling Special: Trumper Sandalwood Soft Shaving Cream + Silvertip Badger...Daily: Double Edge safety razor with Feather blades and Proraso Shaving Foam.
Traveling: Cartridge plus a tube of foam.
Feeling Special: Trumper Sandalwood Soft Shaving Cream + Silvertip Badger Bristle Shaving Brush.
At some point, you may get frustrated with cartridges. They are expensive to replace, but if you don't replace them often, they become unpleasant. Double Edge razors are significantly cheaper in the long term, but have a huge learning curve. Once you have figured out how to avoid cuts and nicks, there is simply no going back.
Before going down that path, I suggest you simply try different soaps, creams and foams.
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Comment on Help on deciding whether to stay with a low cost simple life, or to "live life to the fullest" in ~life
PantsEnvy Link ParentOK, so because you are FIRE and are frugal, you are putting limits on your favorite activity your ability to see family your ability to make friends with like minded people your ability to date...OK, so because you are FIRE and are frugal, you are putting limits on
- your favorite activity
- your ability to see family
- your ability to make friends with like minded people
- your ability to date like minded people
- your ability to explore new places, new experiences, all in your back yard
- your ability to discover new hobbies like #carlife or #vanlife
- your ability to introduce new people to your favorite hobby
I can't give you advice. That is your decision.
I can say that some of the most interesting people I ever met spend their weekends driving out to somewhere in the middle of nowhere to party or hike or kayak or mountain bike or ski or simply camp out with someone cool. Some of the best (and some of the worst) experiences I ever had was with those people.
The downsides are there are a lot of hidden costs in buying or renting a car.
You can minimize total cost of ownership by buying a three year old corolla or civic, hold it for the long term, but you need negotiate hard for a good price against folks way more experienced than you, and you need to be careful to not buy a lemon. You could buy a ten year old car but you need to figure out a way to maintain it yourself, or find a mechanic you trust, or deal with the potential break downs in the middle of nowhere.
The biggest hidden cost is insurance. And you aren't factoring it into the price of rentals. The rental guys lure you in with a cheap price, and then ask if you want to be liable for a $25k car if it is stolen or damaged. Now you are paying $120 instead of $60. Because you don't have car insurance. Your credit card may provide some coverage, but it doesn't cover everything, and in general all companies make their money by finding reasons not to pay out cash. Not sure how zipcar works.
I've driven without full insurance, which was fine, until I found myself trying to get cash out of another persons insurance company. My insurance company is fantastic, but once they determined it was between me and the other guys insurance company, they were no longer involved, and I no longer drove without full insurance.
Also, you are liable for medical. Even with full insurance, there are limits to medical. Higher limits mean higher premiums. If you have significant assets you want to protect, you now need umbrella insurance.
The biggest long term cost, is you might find yourself wanting a car into retirement. Now you have to budget for more money when you retire, and you are saving less money now, because you also want a car now.
The biggest unknown cost is that a car is a gateway drug. You might find yourself happily partnered with house and kids and no money.
Lastly, there is the cost of buying the wrong car. Sales tax isn't cheap. Getting a good price for a used car is extremely hard. If you buy a civic, but then decide you want a van for camping, that will cost you.
All that said, I suggest you stop worrying about it, rent a car for a full weekend, pay for the full coverage, plan go someplace fun, and plan to invite others along. And then let us all know how it goes. Because you have walls of written advice here.
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Comment on Help on deciding whether to stay with a low cost simple life, or to "live life to the fullest" in ~life
PantsEnvy LinkWhich do you want to prioritize? Retiring incredibly early, or dating and maybe ending up with a life partner? You may not be able to achieve both.for the purposes of asking people out for dates afterwards if we bonded during the hike.
Which do you want to prioritize?
Retiring incredibly early, or dating and maybe ending up with a life partner?
You may not be able to achieve both.
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Comment on What do you actually do at work? in ~life
PantsEnvy LinkI'm a manager. Which means I talk. A lot. I also communicate non verbally. Emails. Texts. I spend an inordinate amount of time preparing to communicate. Slides. Research in preparation for all the...I'm a manager. Which means I talk. A lot. I also communicate non verbally. Emails. Texts. I spend an inordinate amount of time preparing to communicate. Slides. Research in preparation for all the talking I am about to do, usually. There is obviously a lot more going on, but if you were to observe me, without any deep understanding of my job, you would simply see someone who talks a lot. And that is the life of a manager. You figure out which of the 2-3 meetings is most important to attend during the next hour, and you attend it... if it's the sort of meeting where others do all the talking, then you don't really listen, because you are too busy emailing and slacking... if it's the sort of meeting where you do the talking, then all I do is listen and talk, because I can't multi task well.
I think your deeper question is how the fuck do you decide what subjects to take and what Uni to choose and what speciality to major in and what jobs to apply for... And I think the answer is simply which subjects seem the most interesting to you and the most likely to lead to a well paying career. You could major in Computer Science if you love programming. If you love computers and hate programming you could focus on Management Science and Information Systems. I did the latter. Then I took whatever jobs I could get. I worked in technical support, I worked as a dev and a dev lead, I worked as a product manager, now I am a people manager.
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Comment on What do you actually do at work? in ~life
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Comment on Quitting alcohol, I don't feel like I was ever *that bad* in ~health.mental
PantsEnvy Link Parent@hobofarmer pinged me because they are kind enough to checkin with me monthly. You are not alone. I found myself drinking too much at home, so for the last three months, I simply do not buy it...@hobofarmer pinged me because they are kind enough to checkin with me monthly.
You are not alone.
I found myself drinking too much at home, so for the last three months, I simply do not buy it when shopping.
Yet it's still tempting. To buy booze just this once. To celebrate this special reason. Or because today was a hard day.
The checkins make it easier to ignore the temptation.
I ask myself "do I really want to explain to hobofarmer why I made an exception for this one thing?"
Generally I am an honest yet lazy person, and the laziest thing to do is simply not buy the booze in the first place.
Also hobofarmer mentioned a brilliant idea. They asked their spouse to not buy any booze for at home either. I did the same.
Rather than worry what your friends and acquaintances might think of you, for not drinking, you might just find yourself wondering more about what a random internet stranger might think of you for making an exception to whatever rules you decided to commit too.
I'm happy to checkin with you also. Like you, I trust myself with one social drink. But in general, I prefer not too. One is never enough. Why even bother?
As for the why, I don't think it matters why. I usually distract folks with a bad joke, or just stick with "no thanks." If pressed for a why, I go with one of @patience_limited excellent reasons. Usually the weight watching one.
As for the inconsistency, that doesn't really matter either. We are all wildly inconsistent. Hardcore addicts will quit every addictive substance known to man, except will chain smoke like portable chimneys. I still buy way too many sugary treats and fatty foods at the supermarket, which are also empty calories, and are not doing my health any favors.
As for the never being that bad, that doesn't really matter either. There are tons of teetotalers who never were "that bad." They simply just don't drink. At least as far as we know. Which is all we need to know.
All the best.
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Comment on What is a software you wish existed? in ~comp
PantsEnvy Link ParentFINVIZ has it. Just snapshot yoy % change along with yoy % change in market cap, revenue, earnings, FCFF etc... Which companies should I apply to? Those that are hiring like mad and growing...FINVIZ has it.
Just snapshot yoy % change along with yoy % change in market cap, revenue, earnings, FCFF etc...
Which companies should I apply to? Those that are hiring like mad and growing revenue like madder, and maybe even free cash flow positive.
Which companies should i invest in? I am not a fan of companies that are growing profits by cutting costs, it works in the short term, but in the long term it's not a strategy for growth.
Is the pullback in tech hiring driven by revenue shrinkage or valuation shrinkage?
Is it specific to unprofitable startups, shrinking tech giants or is it across the board?
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Comment on What is a software you wish existed? in ~comp
PantsEnvy Link ParentBoth. Which companies should I apply to. Which companies should i invest in. Also, if it's in a database with stock info, maybe I can ask some interesting questions. Is the pullback in tech hiring...Both. Which companies should I apply to. Which companies should i invest in.
Also, if it's in a database with stock info, maybe I can ask some interesting questions. Is the pullback in tech hiring driven by revenue shrinkage or valuation shrinkage? Is it specific to unprofitable startups, shrinking tech giants or is it across the board?
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Comment on What is a software you wish existed? in ~comp
PantsEnvy LinkTech companies employee growth over time. Who is growing? Who is shrinking? The data is all there. Fuck it, if you don't build it, I will. And I don't even know how to code beyond ChatGPT &...Tech companies employee growth over time.
Who is growing?
Who is shrinking?
The data is all there.
Fuck it, if you don't build it, I will.
And I don't even know how to code beyond ChatGPT & Google.
Let me know.
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Comment on Y2K | Official trailer in ~movies
PantsEnvy Link ParentI was a programmer during the 90's, and spent all of two weeks updating mission critical software to be y2k compliant. It wasn't complicated. This was for a mission critical 24x7 application that...I was a programmer during the 90's, and spent all of two weeks updating mission critical software to be y2k compliant.
It wasn't complicated.
This was for a mission critical 24x7 application that supported 80% of all companies in the fortune 500. So they tested the shit out of it. Didn't find a single bug. But they kept testing it for seven months.
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Comment on Y2K | Official trailer in ~movies
PantsEnvy LinkThis looks amazingly bad, and I really want to watch it! Scream, Tucker & Dale, Cabin in the woods, all embrace horror clichés with comedic gusto and are all the more brilliant for it. I always...This looks amazingly bad, and I really want to watch it!
Scream, Tucker & Dale, Cabin in the woods, all embrace horror clichés with comedic gusto and are all the more brilliant for it.
I always worry that previews show all the best punchlines in rapid fire succession, which is always mildly amusing, but ruins the lead up and payoff of actually watching the movie. I stopped watching the preview half way through, but I fear I watched too much already.
The big sequence where the year 2000 hits and everything from a toaster to a Tamagotchi goes homicidal is a chaotic blast, but once the film shifts into a broader comic gear, it never quite finds its heart again.
-Slant Magazine.
(I thought this was a documentary on Y2k, and while I normally run away from all previews, I need to watch previews for documentaries to decide if I should watch them)
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of August 19 in ~news
PantsEnvy Link ParentSadly, this is the most American thing ever... make an idle threat to leave the country if your side loses an election. However... It's interesting that Trump is talking about the possibility of...Sadly, this is the most American thing ever... make an idle threat to leave the country if your side loses an election.
However... It's interesting that Trump is talking about the possibility of loosing.
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Comment on Gamblers are dumping stocks to bet on sports, new study says in ~finance
PantsEnvy Link ParentJEPI is getting smoked by a simple index fund SPY because buy write isn't more risk. It's less risk. It caps the future performance in exchange for less tax efficient premiums now. -
Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of August 12 in ~news
PantsEnvy Link ParentThey tested with 8 million concurrent users. Perhaps they didn't test with 8 million concurrent users furiously hitting the reload button?They tested with 8 million concurrent users.
Perhaps they didn't test with 8 million concurrent users furiously hitting the reload button?
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of August 12 in ~news
PantsEnvy LinkTrump's interview with Musk hit by tech issuesTrump's interview with Musk hit by tech issues
It's now past 20:00 EDT and the feed on X/Twitter is off to a glitchy start.
Some users - including those in our newsroom - have recieved error messages while trying to log on.
It seems reminiscent of the announcement by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who used his chat with Musk on Twitter to announce his presidential campaign.
That event was also plagued by technological errors.
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Comment on What Texas can teach San Francisco and London about building houses: it’s not a housing crisis — it’s a planning crisis in ~design
PantsEnvy Link ParentThe SF Bay Area is constrained by mountains that seem to limit development. I regularly bike up a few thousand feet to peaks with fantastic overviews of the SF Bay Area. The Bay Area is ringed by...The SF Bay Area is constrained by mountains that seem to limit development.
I regularly bike up a few thousand feet to peaks with fantastic overviews of the SF Bay Area. The Bay Area is ringed by huge mountains. The housing is primarily on the flat bits, and there are almost no more empty flat bits.
There are acres of empty farmland, but they are all on mountainous terrain. Some houses definitely crop up in the mountains, but surprisingly little.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of February 19 in ~news
PantsEnvy Link ParentCurrent odds are 26% :/The linked article states that odds of a shutdown are low
Current odds are 26% :/
Adam Ragusea's Red beans and rice is solid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOtE_mrV3SY
Adam Ragusea's Fire Beans is nice if you like spicy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqfbcskdiCE
(I don't like beans either, but my kid loves both Adam Ragusea and beans)